A burned CD-R copy of an unreleased solo album by Ghost's Tobias Forge sold online for almost $5500

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Ghost frontman Tobias Forge made a solo album before the band took off. It was never released and fans REALLY want it

Tobias Forge with an inset of the art for his solo album Passiflora
(Image credit: Tobias Forge photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic))

A CD-R copy of an unreleased solo album by Ghost frontman Tobias Forge has sold online for $5434.

The burned CD copy of Passiflora by Tobias Forge was bought by a fan on Discogs in January. It was one of the most expensive items sold on the platform that month.

The album was apparently recorded in 2008, but was never released as Forge turned his attention to his then new project, Ghost.

Two tracks from Passiflora have since been leaked on YouTube. House Of Affection and In Enigma Schiffer can be heard below.

Forge formed Ghost after writing Stand By Him – described by Metal Hammer as a sharp and compelling slice of hard rock in the 70s hard rock tradition of Blue Öyster Cult and Pentagram.

Originally written with Swedish lyrics, Stand By Him later appeared on Ghost's 2010 debut Opus Eponymous with English lyrics.

Forge described the birth of Ghost as his last roll of the dice. He’d been playing in bands since his mid-teens, with little to show for it. Now he was hurtling towards 30, married, with twin children to support. 

“At that point in 2009, I was at a point of desperation,” he told Metal Hammer. “I was one year into parenthood, facing the fact that, fuck, we need more money. So I decided to do something.”

Ghost quickly found an appreciative audience, including stars like Metallica's James Hetfield and Pantera singer Phil Anselmo.

The cover art for Passiflora by Tobias Forge

(Image credit: Claudio Marino)

Passiflora tracklist

1: The Breeze
2: Lucifer & Lucia
3: In Enigma Schiffer
4: House Of Affection
5: Cinematique
6: Savant Garde
7: Red Lights
8: Last
9: Mary Says
10: Solitaire

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.